Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Matt found the idea for this meal on Serious Eats who adapted it from Gourmet. I find it interesting that Gourmet thinks one pound of pasta serves 6 people while Serious Eats thinks it serves 2. For a main dish I think Gourmet is a little on the small side & Serious Eats is way too much. With all the vegetables in this recipe we would have been struggling to eat half a pound of pasta each, not even taking into account what a healthy serving size of pasta is.Other than that issue, this was a wonderful recipe. We have lots of basil in the garden right now so I made the pesto from scratch but you should feel free to use a store bought pesto for this instead. Come dinner time this came together in a snap since the vegetables cook with the pasta.

I think we were both surprised at how much we liked this dish. The flavors were so tasty together especially since corn & zucchini are both in season right now. The fresh corn is sweet & the bacon adds the perfect saltiness. I would say using fresh corn is probably pretty important in this recipe. I'm afraid frozen corn might get to mushy & not have as sweet a flavor. Canned corn would definitely not work. Pesto

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain. Leave about 1/2 - 1 T of the bacon fat in the skillet for later.

Meanwhile, bring the water for the pasta to a boil. Salt the water & cook the pasta according to directions. When the pasta has 2 minutes left add the corn kernels & zucchini. When the pasta is done drain it & the vegetables, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Add the pasta & vegetables to the skillet with the reserved bacon fat & stir to coat. Stir in the pesto & bacon pieces. If the pasta seems dry add a bit of the cooking water.

6 comments:

Yeah, I definitely wonder about the pasta servings. Strange, because I think I have eaten a pound of pasta all by myself. Either I mismeasured or I have a big appetite. . .the pasta dish sounds yummy! I love simple pasta dishes like these: they're so satisfying.

Do you know that when cooking for guests, be sure to let them know when you cook with pine nuts. Most people who are allergic to more common nuts are also allergic to pine nuts. But pine nuts are an excellent source of protein. I also love nuts